Moore's Varied Drum Beats Ground Eclectic Album

Author: Kate DeForest

On his latest solo endeavor, Stanton Moore, drummer and founding member of the celebrated "steamroller funk" band Galactic, offers something few musicians are ever able to offer during their entire careers: an album comprised of eclectic and varied songs, each with a unique and memorable sound, without giving the impression that he, himself, has yet to find his own distinct style. The album defies the notion that an album need be homogenous to be stylistically cohesive, or that an album drawing from various foci need sound like a compilation, or compromise.

The album, Flyin' the Koop, assembles an impressive roster: bassist Chris Wood (of Medeski, Marin and Wood), saxophonist Karl Densen (co-founder of Greyboy Allstars), Moore's collaborator in his own group Moore and More, guitarist Brian Seeger, saxophonist Skerik and vocal elements from the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians.

Each of the musicians in the group boasts serious individual talent, which is sometimes problematic when bringing together an ensemble for a solo album effort. However, Flyin' the Koop transcends the liminal boundaries that come with such an album, exceeding much of the expectations that come along with taking a composite group and fusing it into a whole, if only for the length of a recording session.

Perhaps the most important contributing factor to the album's success is that all of the members seem quite comfortable in the role of improviser. There is an energy to the songs that one usually finds only in live shows and the edginess of musicians walking a fine line between relative order, frantic as it may be, and chaos. Moore has said, "I wanted this project to have a lot of improvisation, but I didn't want it to sound like a standard jazz record." He has produced anything but the "standard jazz record," though he has not shunned the musical tradition before him, drawing on many sources, from straight-forward progressive jazz to funk to acid rock (though, thankfully, the latter influence was least present).

The one cover song on the album is "Magnolia Triangle," by James Black, a New Orleans native like Moore himself. "As I was growing up," Moore has said, "I'd hear all these great new Orleans musicians, then trace their ideas to the past, whether it was the Mardi Gras Indians or the early brass bands."

However, though those roots are present, in songs composed by Moore, as well as those by his collaborators, the New Orleans presence is subtly interwoven into the emotion tone and melodic quality of the pieces.

"Amy's Lament," a beautifully constructed song that moves with the slow and soft grace of a funeral march but without the darkness that can threaten to shade a song of that pace. It also happens to be the only song to which Moore has the only credit for composing, which may explain why it seems more polished, but less galvanized than the others.

One of the most apparent trends of the album is the way each song seems to fit into the scope of the musicians' talent; Moore seems to be an excellent catalyst for the gelling of talent with content.

The diversity of the material of the album has room to expand and the songs have the potential to be springboards for future projects. Two of the most disparate songs on the album are also two of the most memorable.

"Bottoms Up," a sweetly melodic, though at little over a minute and a half, woefully brief, tune was made up from a bass line Wood had played at a previous gig with Moore. Moore adds drums and a shaker, and the result is an elegant piece of music with a very modern aesthetic. "Fallin' Off the Floor" is the only song that utilizes the vocal richness of the Mardi Gras Indians. They add a directly human element into the mix, their deep and raspy vocal loops gives the song dimension.

Moore explains the concept for the album as a "time to do something different — to incorporate modern technology and come up with my own grooves, ideas, sound-mixes and songs that push the New Orleans tradition further." Consider tradition pushed.